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nni II II II II II II II II II I I I I inr 

AUSTIN YESTERDAY AND TODAY 

ni — I I II — II II i i — II I I — I I II i r II I I I I I I in 

A GLANCE AT HER HISTORY 

A WORD ABOUT HER ENTERPRISES 

A DESCRIPTION of HER BIG BANKING 

ESTABLISHMENT 

By PEARL CASHELL JACKSON 



p] COPYRIGHT 19 15 

BY PEARLCASHELL JACKSON 



pi BY PEARLCASHELL JACKSON i-j 

1^ ini ii II II II II ir II II II I I I I — i n i — 'I 



PRESS OF E, L, STECK AUSTI^ 




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AUSTIN ABOUT 1839 OR 1841. 



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AUSTIN OF YESTERDAY 





N the Lamar papers in the State Library there is a reference to three colored 
sketches of Austin in 1839, made by one Sanduslvy, a surveyor and 
draughtsman, and the frontispiece of this booklet is supposed to be one of 
the original sketches. There is no way to verify this, as the picture was 
not signed nor dated. Be that as it may, this picture was owned by Mrs. Bur- 
chard, later Mrs. Pierce, who lived in Austin in 1848, on the spot where the Air 
Dome now stands, and, according to verification by the oldest inhabitants, this 
picture must have been made between the years of 1839 and 1841. It was 
taken from President's Hill, where now stands St. Mary's Academy. It shows 
the Capitol of the Republic, the Bullock Tavern, the Walsh blacksmith shop, 
George Hancock's store. Ham Metz father's store and their log cabin home adjoin- 
ing, each facing the Avenue, Dutch John's bakery, etc., and is the earliest picture 
of Austin, so far as known, in existence. The picture was given to Mrs. Burchard 
by a sui'veyor who boarded with her. She gave it to her daughter, Fidelia, who 
married Ca])t. R. M. Potter, U. S. A., and they later went to New York, where 
Mrs. Potter died. This picture was with the effects she willed to her niece, Mrs. 
Fidelia Saunders of Houston, and was shipped to her. 

The writer ap]3reciated the value of this quaint old picture, and being deeply 
interested in Austin history, purchased it from Mrs. Saunders. 



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AUSTINS CELEBRATED DAM. 



AUSTIN YESTERDAY AND TODAY 




I HEN asked to write this article on Austin, as a background for the valuable old pictures 
that ai'e to go with it, and as a fitting souvenir for distribution by the American National 

^il Bank on the celebration of its Twenty-fifth Anniversary, I felt it would be easy to say 
something obvious about this interesting home city of mine, which has played such an 
active part in the romantic, commercial, and historical drama of the most interesting State in the 
Union. But to express the sober truth of these impressions, when one is imbued with the spirit 
of the place through familiarity, is difficult. 

A story is told of Poussin, the French painter, that when he was asked why he would not 
stay in Venice, he replied, "If I stay here, I shall become a colourist." In a lesser degree the 
same thing may be said of Austin. The sunsets emblazoned in gold and crimson ; the violet domes, 
the irregularly roofed houses etched against the orange of a western sky; the moonlight silvering 
breeze-rippled breaths of purest ozone: the distant trees shimmering in sun-lit haze; the voices 
of happy-hearted students as the college yells echo from the hills ; our Capitol halls where men 
play the ever-interesting political game; social life so alluring and seductive when people have a 
noticeable alertness and independence of mind which Edwin Markham says is found in people of 
pioneer heredity ; all this and more belong to the City nestling in the gfeen-rimmed cup 
of the Colorado hills. These are first impressions; they are inevjt-^— - ^' 
able. They abide and form a glowing background for material f a'gls. 5S-«&<- 

A few days since, a group of women sat around a bridge table, . fe 
and as conversation drifted, the women told, with sparkling faces, 
of the joys of the kaleidoscope, — how it was the favorite 
childhood toys. History may be compared to a kaleidoscope 




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A SCENE ON LAKE AUSTIN. 



AUSTIN YESTERDAY 



N D TODAY 



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me raise the wonder-working tube, allow the fragments to settle as they will, and with words at- 
tempt to render something of the patterns I behold. 

Nearly four score years ago, in 18-18, a little more than six years before Texas became a 
State, Vice President Lamar, weary of official life, came to the upper Colorado on a buffalo hunt. 
At old Fort Prairie, six miles below here, he secured an escort of six rangers. Jacob Harrell was 
then the only white frontier settler where Austin is now located, and no white man lived on the 
river above him, though Reuben Hornsby was already living eight miles below the city. Harrell's 
cabin and blockade were at the mouth of Shoal Creek, near the old river ford. There Lamar, 
Fontaine, his private secretary, and his ranger escort spent the night. The next morning early, r- 
the young son of Harrell awakened them, telling them the jn-airie was covered with buffalo. 
When the successful hunters gatiiered on the ground now occupied by the Capitol building, they 
were irresistably attracted by the picture before them. From the clustering hills on the north? j/;,- 
west the Colorado River meandered on its four hundred and seventy-two mile trip to the Gulf 
(McKinstry's "Colorado Navigator"). East and north the country was slightly rolling 
and the soil very rich, while to the southeast were the fertile river lands which ar^/A f 
now among the most valuable farm lands in the State. The valley below them was £^ ^ 
covered with wild rye ; the unobstructed mountains to the west were lost in 
purplish haze. Lamar, with the innate love of the beautiful that all realy^^i-^-s 
great people have, remarked, "This should be the seat of future eiiH==^Brg°n n fl 1^ 
pire." Nature had placed enormous cedar forests and rock depos """"' ' 

its near at hand which to this day are valuable souxc^s^of re 

■5tC0ND CAPITOT 



V 






THE STATE CAPITOL AT AUSTIN. 



OOOfe 






AUSTIN YESTERDAY AND TODAY 



and which then would make the building of a town possible. As early as 1838 Ed Burleson lo- 
cated a town at the present site and called it Waterloo. 

In 1839, Lamar, as President, approved the Act of Congress of January 16th, 1839, which pro- 
vided for commissioners to select a site for the capital. He instructed them to go to Jake Harrell's 
cabin on the Colorado and look carefully at that location. Lamar's admiration for this particular 
spot no doubt influenced the commissioners in its selection. This same Act of Congress, in Section 
2, said, "Be it further enacted that the name of said site shall be the City of Austin." This was pro- 
posed by Thomas J. Hardeman, one of the members of the Texas Congress. 

The first section of the Act requires that the site for the capital "should be selected at some 
point between the rivers Trinidad and Colorado, and above the San Antonio Road." That Camino 
Real or San Antonio Road was then a celebrated trail. It started from a Mission Church on the 
Rio Grande and had been traveled for over a hundred years by Mission priests in their visitations 
to the Missions of Eastern Texas near Nacogdoches, Missions that were later permanently rebuilt 
near San Antonio and rechristened San Jose, Concepcion, and San Juan, and this band passed 
through and visited the Missions on the San Gabriel until after the priests were massacred byi( 
the Indians. ^ 

That old San Antonio Road crossed the Colorado eighteen miles below Austin. It was 
this technicality in the Constitutional act that for many years made Austin the ball irTf 
the lively game of battledore and shuttlecock played by the^eaEi^ 
statesmen and which came so near losing Austin the posit: 
of capital, which it now so proudly holds. 

The third commission selected President Lamar's 



^ 

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AUSTIN YESTERDAY AND TODAY 



vorite site and surveyed one mile square, laying it off in blocks and lots, between Shoal and 
Waller Creeks, and designated locations for public buildings. The first sale of lots occurred Au- 
gust 11, 1839. Three hundred and sixty-five were sold at that time at an average of six hundred 
dollars per lot. 

Edwin Waller, protected by a company of armed citizens, began in Austin the work of build- 
ing houses for the use of the Republic of Texas in May, 1839, and though no lumber mill had been 
established to furnish plank, houses had been Ixiilt by October, 1839, in which forty wagon-loads 
of archives, books, papers, and furniture of the Republic were stored. Their report was made to 
Congress April 13th, 1839, and so rapidly was the work pushed that in October, 1839, houses for 
most of the departments of government had been erected. The United States census in 1850 
gave Austin a population of six hundred and thirty-nine. The slow growth was caused by its lo- 
cation on the extreme edge of Texas civilization, the Mexican and Indian raids, and the contin- 
ual fight by the eastern faction of the State to have the capital located in that district. Thomas 
J. Rusk and Sam Houston influenced the selection of Houston as temporary capital of the 
State, but thanks to Ed Burleson and John Caldwell, backed by President Lamar, Austin "wrtSx / 
again chosen in preference to Houston or old Washington on the Brazos. Michael Zi 
ler erected the first stone building in the city of Austin. Lamar Moore 
the first brick building. Dietrich and Horst opened the first meat 
later Dietrich sold out and went into partnership with George Han 
cock, whose store stood where the Scarbrough Building now stands 
Dutch John's bakery, on the east side of the Avenue is shown, 
with its blockade, in the old pictiire-QfAustin, as is Ham 



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AUSTIN Y E.S T E R D A Y AND TOD A Y 



Metz's father's store on the riglit hand side of the Avenue, and a small house where the family 
lived. The houses of that time were generally built of hewn logs, being double log houses with 
a passage between. The planks for building were sawed into pine logs, were squared with a 
broad-axe, and then placed on a scaffold. Mr. J. W. Darlington, now past ninety, assisted in 
hauling the planks to Austin. He now lives in Austin, and so far as I know is the only one 
of that day now alive. All of the public buildings were covered with split boards rived by hand 
with a froe. A double log house with a passage between was built on the east side of the 
Avenue at the intersection with Eighth Street, about fifteen paces from Congress Avenue. 
There Lamar, Houston and Anson -Jones, as Presidents, had their business offices. There Hous- 
ton received Monsieur de Saligny, the Minister of France to Texas, and there Governors Wood, 
Bell, and Pease had their offices until 1855. 

Probably the most pretentious mansion of tliose early days was built by Monsieur de Saligny 
when he came from France to fill his important post as Minister to the Republic of Texas. The 
house this Frenchman built is in a wonderful state of preservation, and is now occupied by Miss 
Lillie Robertson, a loyal daughter of the Texas Republic. The site was away from the settlement, 
on a hill overlooking Austin, now known as Robertson Hill. This gay young bachelor, younge^:' 
son and later Count Saligny, prudently brought with him from France doors, hinges,/ \ 

locks, and other building material. These doors and other tilings remain intact after all 
the years. The doors are quaint French ])aneled designs, all double, and /% -MiS 
swung on huge serpentine-shaped hinges. The locks are a foot in Ax^r-^s^^"'^ 
ameter and possessed of solid brass knobs. He designed a double > '' ' 

house, with a double hall in the center, using this as a din^=^ii < (331 




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UNIVERSITY AVENUE— ONE OF THE PRETTIEST STREETS IN THE SOUTH. 



AUSTIN YESTERDAY AND TODAY 



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ing hall. Two rooms were arranged on either side of the hall, each having a great open fireplace, 
with natural stone hearths and great mantels of colonial white finish, all of delicate detail and 
workmanship. A rather narrow colonial stairway extended from the hall to a platfomi crossing 
the hall at the rear, and ascended from this to a large attic above, lighted by dormer windows 
and used as quarters for his servants. One of the dormer windows lighted the stairway and hall 
at the rear. Beneath this substantial home the French Consul caused to be made a great wine 
cellar and stocked it well. The hall was not plastered, nor was it papered, but faced with hand- 
dressed matched boards painted white. A great ])orch with square pillars extended along the 
front, these square pillars being grouped oddly, as twins, and connected by a curious old trellis 
work similar to modern lattice, but with strips two feet apart. Across the upper part of the porch 
was a railing bearing the words, "Legation of France," and this alone has been changed. With 
this exception the house is as Saligny left it, though additions have been made in the rear and, 
the building has been repainted, as nearly as possible in the chocolate and white affected byi< 
this French resident of old. There are quaint closets, wide of panel and white of finish, that^-i 
were built into the house by the original owner. Many tales of the merry entertainments 
of the French Consul are related, for he was a man of a lively disposition. His pop- -^ 
ularity in the community was great, and gentlemen of the district rode up to 
his home nightly and were made welcome. The great wine cellar, now filled in, 
made itself useful, and as a crowning glory the hospitable Frenchman possessed- ,; 

merry gentlem^ 
more formal lt«'iii 
oeroned--'- '- « 




a hand organ, minus the monkey, and on this the 
would play until night turned into day. Occasionally 
entertainments were given, at which ladies properl 





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THE SCOTTISH RITK CATHEDRAL, 



AUSTIN YESTERDAY AND TODAY 



were among the guests. A frame building, near where St. Mary's Academy now stands, served 
for the President's Mansion. The heads of the departments were compelled to jnit up with log 
cabins, the Cai)itol of the Republic was a two-roomed log house with a hall between, the west 
side divided and subdivided into committee rooms, with porches back and front, and stood where 
our City Hall now stands. The principal hotel was the old Bullock Tavern, where Van Smith's 
Drug Store now is. The first church was a Methodist, and the first preacher was Reverend John 
Haynie. The Austin Gazette appeared on October 30th, 1830, bearing the name of S. Whiting 
as publisher. 

On the 17th of October, 1839, President Lamar and his cabinet reached Austin with a cav- 
alcade, at the head of which were Albert Sidney Johnston and Ed Burleson. There was great 
rejoicing in the small village when a bugle heralded their approach. The presidential party was 
welcomed by a salute of twenty-one guns. That night they were royally entertained at the fa- 
mous old Bullock Hotel, kept then by Mrs. Ebberly, who afterwards became Mrs. Bullock, and 
who played such a conspicuous part in the early history of Austin. At that supper, where Hon. 
Edwin Waller made the address of welcome, many toasts were drunk; among them were, 
"Sam Houston and San Jacinto; they will be remembered as long as Texas possesses 
single freeman;" "General Albert Sidney Johnston: A scholar, a soldiec-aj^ 
gentleman — the highest qualities a man may possess;" . "Tte^2i5^|-r ~ _^ "~,fJl^i 
memory of Stephen F. Austin: Whatever may be the<r:^^^^^j^-'^< ' ^^- - .siia;^ M%\ - 
pretense of others to the paternity of Te.xas, we^tvij^^^^^fe. ^^^ "^ .--^--l--:- -- ,^M§tmm\' 
recognize him alone as the Father of this Republic," "-•■<"\5«*:^f^;^j^^ 
General Houston was a member of the first Congre§#^^ ,:.-.i, 




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THE NEW GAIETY THEATER— THE PROPERTY OF THE NALLE ESTATE. 



AUSTIN Y E S T E R D A Y AND TOD A Y 



that met in Austin, and did not conceal liis objection to the capital remaining here, though 
after his election the second time as President he stayed in Austin with the heads of the depart- 
ments until after San Antonio was captured, in March, 1842. At that time there was not a 
house between Austin and San Antonio. It was at this lawless time that President Houston 
called Congress to meet at Washington, on the Brazos, where it continued to meet until 1845, with- 
out access to the archives, which citizens of Austin flatly refused to give up. President Hous- 
ton, however, sent Captain Thomas Smith to try to secretly remove the records to Washington. 
Smith reached Austin at midnight, December 30th, 1842, and was first discovered by Mrs. Eb- 
berly while he was loading his wagons in the alley west of the old Hancock store (alley back of 
Griffith's Drug Store). To arouse the citizens Mrs. Ebberly went quickly to where a six-pound 
cannon loaded with grape stood on Congress Avenue, and fired it at the Land Ofiice, where other 
wagons were being loaded with archives. Captain Smith hastily retreated, but was overtaken 
early the next morning by the infuriated citizens, who had followed with their cannon, one of 
the "Twin Sisters." The archives were retaken at Kinney's Ford, on Brushy Creek, and when 
brought back were sealed in tin cans and placed in the custody of Mrs. Ebberly. After that 
they were kept under guard in an old log store on the Avenue. Still later, they were buried and 
not restored to lawful custody until January 1st, 1844. In 1842-3, communication with the 
coast towns was cut off. Clothing was again the primitive aff'air of the earliest^ 
times. It is said that in 1843, the streets of Austin were grown over with weed's 
and that only three women remained hei-e, but enough men were here to divide!; 
the Republic and retain the archives. In 1846 a steamboat, "The Coloisd^tevI— ■ 
made its way to Austin from the Gulf. 






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THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY— ONE OF THE BEST PIECES OF Al i in 



;K IN TEXAS. 



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AUSTIN YESTERDAY AND TODAY 



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|X 1846, during the Mexican War, the government established a mihtary post in Austin. 
The army officers added very much to the pioneer life of the town. The inhabitants at 
that time were mostly soldiers of fortune, lawyers, army people, and gamblers. The 
wholesale issue of bogus land certificates offered a fertile field for legal talent, and at- 
tracted many brainy men from the older States. The United States arsenal stood where Palm 
School is now. 

When the last President of the Republic, Anson Jones, standing in front of the capitol, after 
making his farewell address, lowered the Lone Star flag and said, "The Republic of Texas is no 
more," strong men wept, but as many of the early Austinites were born under the National flag, 
the Stars and Stripes received a hearty welcome. 

In 18.50 the location of the capital became a sectional question. It was to the energy of the 
people of Austin and El Paso that Austin remained, and later by vote of the State it was made 
the permanent capital. 

During the administration of Governor Pease, the State received a vast Indian claim from 
the United States government. With splendid taste and judgment. Governor Pease had the old 
capitol finished. The Governor's Mansion and eleemosynaiy institutions were built, and 
in various ways gave impetus to Austin's growth. Immediately"^',. . ^ 
following the surrender of the Confederate armies under GeneJjMi^^fe'"^^' 
Robert E. Lee and Joseph E. Johnston, Governor Pendleton Mur-' ;|^^-. .''^ ,: '^^i^^y 
rah and State Treasurer Randolph and other State officials left 
for Mexico. Governor Hamilton had not yet taken the oath of otK^^^^a-dd^-i/^M ,1-1 TCT I'-l -^^ 



lor Mexico. Governor Hamilton had not yet taken the oath of 0i<^~^siJm3*v--^^i r 'PT 
fice, and there was practically no constituted authority in Austlffr ;t1,v "^li-SH'i-!?'' wl 







^ 



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THE BHIUGE— CROSSING THE COLORADO AT AUSTIN. 



AUSTIN YESTERDAY AND TODAY 



Bold, open, daylight robberies and incendiary fires took place daily. Forty or fifty ex-Confed- 
erates organized themselves to protect property and prevent lawlessness. The temporary arm- 
ory for this band was on the second floor of the Dietrich building, which stood at the corner of 
Sixth and Congress Avenue, where Raatz & O'Reilly's store was. On the night of the 11th of 
June, 1865, which was one of notably bright moonlight. Colonel John C. Walker was notified by 
General N. G. Shelley that robbers were at work. The Land Office was in a two-story building 
northeast of the old capitol which was burned in 1881. Nineteen men volunteered to move on 
the robbers, thirty or forty in number, who were in possession of the treasury building. The 
robbers fled at the approach of the men, taking with them about seventeen thousand dollars. They 
were traced by gold pieces nearly as far as Fiskville. The citizens were notified of the robbery 
by the ringing of the bell of the Baptist church, which stood at the corner of Tenth and Colorado 
Streets, and is even now being replaced by a modern church building. f ; 

During reconstruction days, as this period was called, when the military was in charge y'^ 
at Austin, there was constructed what was known as the Bull Pen, in which persons ,ar- >3^ 
rested by the soldiers were confined. The Bull Pen was located near the road leading *^ 

to the dam. It was circular in form and about one hundred and fifty feet in diam- .; ', 
eter, with no covering over it. It had been constructed by placing logs twelve tctf^'^ 
fifteen feet long in the ground on their ends, with a plank walk near ^le top_-^s^^^ ^ 
on the outside on which the guard walked to watch the prisoners. ^"^ "^ - *- 

these small tents were the only protection from sun and rain, and tferr^l S B 
clayey, sticky soil made conditions at certain times almost unbear- j ■ ■ * 
able. It was not necessary to file a complaint, oj^^ve^ceharggia^l^^ S S a 

" * " " ^ND CAPlfoT 

■^0^KniomoN 
1831 










AUSTINS NEW POSTOFFICE. 



AUSTIN YESTERDAY AND TODAY 



son with an offense to have him placed in that most uncomfortable spot. The tyranny and op^ 
pression of the military in those trying times was almost beyond human endurance. 

Austin is preeminently an educational center, and from its earliest days has been the mag- 
net that attracted people with literary tendencies. At one time the winsome Amelia Barr lived, 
wrote, and taught school in Austin. Here 0. Henry (Will Porter) spent many years of his young 
manhood, — here he danced and flirted, here he wooed and won sweet Athol Estes. Here brilliant 
Harry Steger was the idol of his boon comijanions ; and had death not cut off his career, many 
think he would have become the most brilliant figure among Austin's literati. Austin was the 
birthplace of Betty Paschal, the charming wife of the Irish patriot, T. P. O'Connor. Elizabet 
Ney, after traveling nearly around the world, built her home in the bluebonnet fields of Austin's 
suburbs. 

Many of the men and women who have helped to make Washington, D. C, the social as well 
as the political center of the Union have been Austin people. 

The State TTniversity, at the head of the public school system of the State, is located here,r 
and is the greatest gift Texas has to offer to her sons and daughters. The buildings are locate^Sj^^ 
on a tract of forty acres about three-fourths of a mile directly north of the capitol and faciJig^/ 
one of the prettiest bits of avenue in the South. The needs of the University called forth 
by its rapid growth have exceeded the appropriations for its maintenance, 
frame buildings have been placed on the campus to help 
near at hand when a loyal and patriotic State will generoual 
give to upbuild and maintain an institution that is even nd^ 
at the head of all the schools in the Southwest. The Austin- 






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AUSTIN YESTERDAY AND TODAY 



High School and a splendid system of ward schools, St. Mary's Academy for girls, St. Edward's 
College for boys, the excellent preparatory schools, — Whitis, Kenilworth and Kelley, the Theologi- 
cal Schools and the University Bible Chair, all endeavor to keep pace with the desire for educa- 
tion in Austin. 

The City Hospital, the Austin Sanitarium, and Seton Infirmary all help to care for the sick 
not only in Austin but in the surrounding country. Austin has one of the lowest death rates 
in the State owing to her natural drainage and the dry, invigorating atmosphere. The State 
Lunatic Asylum, with its two thousand patients, has the lowest death rate in the world for an 
institution of its size. 

Among the chief attractions of the city is the great granite Capitol, built of the celebrated 
Texas granite from near Llano. The building, approximating a Greek cross in outline, with a 
grand dome rising directly over the intersection of the main corridors, is second only to the 
capitol of New York in construction, second in size to that of the nation at Washington, and it 
is the seventh largest building in the world. It has beautiful grounds set with historical statues, 
Td it^ halls are hung with paintings commemorating Texas's heroic daring and struggle for in- 
dependence. Here our Legislature meets, and here the inaugural balls, which bring the 
representative social life of the State together, are held. The Governor's office 
^ndjDublig reception room, the Supreme Court that considers the questions sub- 
litted by attorneys from all over the State, various State depart- 
g IS i*i^'*. |^^pj^|.g^ ^i^g Confederate Museum, and the State Library are all 
housed in this huge pile of granite. The Texas State Li- 
brary contains many interesting documents besides the books. 




AUSTIN YESTERDAY AND TODAY 



In the carefully guarded receptacles are the worm-eaten treaties drawn up between Texas and 
other nations. The one with England is signed by Queen Victoria ; the one with Holland bears the 
bold signature of Willeni. These treaties are velvet-bound and silver-clasped. Here are the 
time-stained Lamar papers, where many items of early history are found. Here can be found tlie 
record of the loan the Republic failed to get from France, all because the Bullock pigs insisted 
on eating Monsieur Saligny's horses' corn. The quarrel between the landlord and the gi'oom ex- 
tended to the French Consul and the President, and led directly to the recall of Monsieur de Salig- 
ny. The State Library is rich in history and romance, and the well-trained librarians make 
research a pleasure. 

The most important happening in Austin's history was the change to the Commission form 
of government. Austin's progress under the Commission has been i)henomenal. Austin's manu- 
facturing and wholesale interests are materially increasing from year to year. The railroad fa- 
cilities have increased correspondingly. The wholesale trade for a radius of a hundred miles is 
an important factor in the city's commercial prosperity. 

In 1840 the Mormon settlers, who had located at Webberville, took the contract for the firstp 
jail in Austin. They chose the present site of the dam as their abiding place, and here they bqilff' 
Texas' first mill. Up to that time the corn was ground on the old steel mills by hand. I|^ 
was these same Mormons who first manufactured the white chairs from hackberry_^| 
wood, which are even now sought for as relics of pioneer Texas. Waslij- xt~a\i--^-'TT~T3iTiio^ ^-^A 




out after washout demolished their plant, for, as we learned in 
the old Colorado and the water sprites who live between the|v^ 
hills above the dam are not to be defied. 







AUSTIN YESTERDAY AND TODAY 





N April 7th, 1900, the great dam, which was the pride of Austin and the admiration of the 
engineering world, gave way, but the indomitable energy of Austin's people prevailed and 
the recuperation was phenomenal. The new dam is now finished, — 1915. Correcting by 
experience the weaknesses of the former structure, the new dam, constructed with 
brawn and brain, now is imbedded in the heart of the hills and the granite structure has al- 
ready stood several severe tests as the raging water pushed against the powerful bulwark. The 
facilities this enormous water power will give in generating electricity will give Austin the cheap- 
est power in the State, and it is probable that transmission lines will be installed to carry elec- 
tricity all over the surrounding country. 

The lake above the dam will again be, as it was before, the playground of Texas, as well as a 
Mecca for the tourists from the ice-gripped North. The banks will be lined with merry campers, 

autiful homes, and enticing hotels and club houses. 

j Ji This great dam forms a lake thirty miles in length, and a little more than a quarter of a 

■^g^mile wide. On each side the rugged cliffs are thickly covered with evergreen trees, and in the 

-spring the penetrating odor of the purple mountain laurel pervades the air. Boats of every 

description ply back and forth, and many say the scenery is more picturesque than 

^at of the famed Hudson. Austin now has many paved streets. Congress Ave- 

njue, illuminated at night by its diamond-shaped frames, holding bright-hued 

lights which supplement the other lights on the street railway poles in the center 

f the street, the well-lighted University campus, the glowing lamps of 

the principal streets, and overhead the spectacular towers which 

be see n for manv miles, make Austin a city of light. 

Tin ^ ' 

1888^ 




AUSTIN YESTERDAY AND TODAY 



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l^STIN is just getting ready to enjoy the greatest prosperity in her histoiy. The Colo- 
rado bridge, modeled after the one at Des Moines, Iowa, cost $210,000. It is built of con- 
crete and is nearly a thousand feet long and about fifty feet wide. There are walks on 
each side for pedestrians, and it is beautifully lighted with cluster lamps. 
The Austin Volunteer Fire Department must have its meed of praise. So efficient is the 
service of this patriotic band of men and their up-to-the-minute apparatus that the fire rate in 
Austin is unusually low. 

It is in the fertile valley below town that the largest spinach farm in the United States is 
located. It covers nearly one thousand acres, employs a small army of Mexicans, and ships ten 
carloads of spinach daily during the winter. Another unique industry is the huge turkey-ship- 
ping plant. Here, before the holidays, turkeys were killed by the thousands and shipped to east- 
ern markets. 

The splendid new $250,000 post office at West Sixth and Lavaca Streets is a study in archi- 
tectural fitness. 

The new post road now under way, which will link Austin and San Antonio, will be of 
inestimable benefit from a financial as well as from a social standpoint. The, enterpris 
ing merchants in every department of trade cater to the tastes of^vei "" ' ~'^'^ 
class of society. The banks of Austin have alwavs beey^^^?^^^^ 



the cornerstone of its commercial prosperity, and at '.^S^^^S^'J*-^^,;' 



■*ST5?,'&tr 



present their condition is more stable and prosperous 4^iy;#'''^IC^'fi';^.i^*j;' I^Trf^ 
than ever before, notwithstanding the terrible stram.^'*''5^.?|&,^i^^i^''^'rM^ 
brought on by the European war, and the delay";^' 




AUSTIN YESTERDAY AND TODAY 




marketing the enormous cotton crop of 1914. The men who direct Austin's banks are at the head of 
all advancement, not only for Austin but for the State. For the last turn of the kaleidoscope I can 
not do better than show an extract from the National Printer-.Journalist, published in Chicago : 

"Austin is in the heart of Texas. It is the almost equi-distant point for all sections. Here have 
been bound together the interests of El Paso and of Texarkana ; those of Orange and the Panhandle. 
Here is the river which holds together a State larger than all New England. As the young folks 
seek this center of the educational system of the State Austin breathes into them the spirit of the 
whole of Texas, for which it stands. The ideals and the sentiment and the broad-mindedness of the 
Southwest are well preserved ; the common history consecrated in the mind of a people. 

"Romance is not lost, and imagination has its play. High hills, high thoughts ; such beauty, 

such landscapes, such atmosphere, help in the compassing of nature's lessons ; give breadth of 

view and strength of will. The mountains fairly breathe the legends of old Indian days. The 

record of heroes and the glories of Texas history seem to have been wrought into the walls and 

tiowers and domes and structures which stand for statehood and advancement. 

) "Such as it is and as it promises to be, as the city progressing according to the substantial 

growth of all Texas, it seems as much to individualize the charms which appear to have so gripped 

i^s people and influenced their lives. Those fundamental things which make it so pleasant to 

\^ alive, to accomplish much, are here. Discovered, they have brought the people 

ho are doing their whole part to meet the standards set. This is not a city of 

dreams and florid color. It is one of firm foundation like the rock on which it 

tands. It is healthy in every organ and just now coming into full power 

and sirefigtk^f its development." 





"Sftk 




ACKNOWLEDGMENT 




Besides the usual channels which are at the disposal of a writer of 
a historical sketch, and of which I have not failed to avail myself, I am 
deeply indebted to the late Judge A. W. Terrell, Drs. Eugene Barker 
and Killis Camiibell of the State I'niversity, Mr. E. W. Winkler, State 
Librarian, and Mr. Darlington of Austin ; also to Mesdames -Jas. H. Ray- 
mond, Mrs. A. -J. (.Jack) Hamilton, and Mrs. Jas. P. Hart, for verification 
and interest dis]ilayed. 

P. C. J. 



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o THE LITTLEFIELD BUILDING ° 





TIK huge sky scraper at the corner of Congress Avenue and East Sixth 
Street is classic in outline and an up-to-date office building from basement 
to I'oof garden, which is even now being replaced by two more stories to 
accommodate men who want spacious, effective, and ornate olfices. 

The massive steel frame of the building is filled in with brick; the trimmings 
are of terra cotta and gray granite from the Llano quarries. It is fireproof and 
splendidly ventilated. 

Two sixteen-passenger elevators carry people back and forth from the main 
corridor, which faces East Sixth Street. The wainscoting of this corridor is of Pa- 
vonazzi marble, in frames of verdi antique, from Vermont. 

The corridors are tile floored, and the general trim of the interior of the build- 
ing is Tennessee pink marble. The toilet rooms are finished in Italian white marble 
and French beveled mirrors. The basement is in Mission and contains a grill room 
and restaurant. The entire Littlefield building is synonymous witii the aspirations 
and ambitions of "Austin of Today." 



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THE AMERICAN NATIONAL BANK 



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N presenting "Austin, Yesterday and Today," to the patrons of The American National 
Bank, the Directors of this bank feel they are fulfilling another part of their obligation 
to the Capital City of Texas, of which the American National Bank has become a part 
of the warp and woof. This bank is composed of Texas men, men whose money was 
made and a great part of it spent in Texas ; men whose interests are for Texas first, last and 
all the time. 

This bank has reached a respectable age as things go in this country of rapid development, 
and takes pleasure in celebrating their twenty-fifth anniversary with this historical souvenir. 

Dr. David F. Houston, Secretary of Agriculture, once said, "The South has seemed to be con- 
tent to make history and to have a certain contempt for recording her deeds, for accumulating 
her material, and for interpreting them to the world." Austin has reached the stage in her de- 
velopment that will appreciate her historical background as a setting for a future greatness. 

A great part of "Austin, Yesterday and Today," is compiled, — scraps taken from historical 
papers, dusty newspaper files, and Texas history, but all verified as far as possible for the 
by the oldest living inhabitants of Texas, some of whom are now living in Austin, and < 
friends of childhood days, who have passed to the Great Beyond. Th^ev^ry spot on which" 
the massive eight-story building now stands was the scene of a.ri' '~ rrH 



early bit of Texas history that is laughable to say the least. TJi^i^ 
was an old fellow named Chamberlain who, as a kind of joke, wass^^-W 
elected Justice of the Peace. Whenever a case was brought tW'^^'' 
him he would say, "Wa'l, I don't know the law, but my nephe^;,-^-:^-%^ 
Mr. Baker, will give you the law." Strange as it may seem, ther e 





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THE AMERICAN NATIONAL BANK 




was a tent containing a lot of flour just about where Deen's big grocery store now stands. One 
night two men made a raid, captured a barrel of flour, and started across town. The top of the 
barrel came out and they were tracked to where the Littlefieid Building now stands. They 
were caught. One man claimed he was not accessory, as he had no use for the flour. Judge 
Chamberlain said, "My nephew, Mr. Baker, will give you the law." Big Foot Wallace was deputized 
to put the first offender under a peace bond, and the man who had no use for the flour was released. 

The very spot where this typical office building of classic lines now stands, — Lot 1, in Block 
69, — is part of the land granted to Michael Ziller by the Republic of Texas, and Major Little- 
field's deed dates indirectly to 1852, when Pease was Governor of Texas. 

The minute description of the bank was given in an edition de luxe and presented to the xT^n 
citizens of Austin when the American National Bank moved into its commodious new home. Suf-.-'y^ 
fice it to say there is such a demand for space in this elegant building that, even now, two extf^ 
stories are being added to create more oflice room. The financial condition of the Amer- -^ 
ican National Bank is stronger than ever before. Major Littlefieid has the Midas touch, tjiat 
turns everything to gold. His vast cattle and landed interests increase in value each ye^. 

The three Vice-Presidents of this big banking house are Messrs. H. A. Wroe, 
R. C. Roberdeau, and T. H. Davis. They have the cjuestions of expert finance 
at their finger tips, and their level-headed judgment in the matter of Igans is 
of material service to Major Littlefieid. The United States Governme 
made no mistake in making a Vice-President of the American Natio.ic^ n n n 
Bank one of the Commissionei's for the Cotton Loan Fund for the|"''""' 
State of Texas because cotton problems are a pa^v^jP^ Pj^Ki^Ssti H B i E 



■^\i\) CAPITOL. 

183T 






illE FKONT LOHUY. 




THE SIDE LOBBY 





H. A. WROE, 
Vice President 



R. C ROBERDEAU, 
Vice President. 



THE AMERICAN NATIONAL BANK 



money matters in Texas. The efficient Cashier, Mr. L. J. Schneider, is a self-made man and exem- 
plifies the confidence that Major Littlefield believes in placing in young men's hands. Mr. Schnei- 
der has been with the bank for fifteen years. 

Back of and behind the senior ofiicers of the bank. Major Littlefield has the hearty co-opera- 
tion of his big working force, among whom are some of the ablest men in Austin. These men are, 
in a great measure, the strength of this big financial enterprise. They display a loyalty and con- 
fidence in their routine work that is absolutely necessary in a bank of this magnitude. 

The American National Bank's jahenomenal growth indicates that the public mind has not 
lost sight of the solidity and safety of this bank, and a bank of this standing should appeal to a 
most discriminating public, with a capital of $300,000, a surplus of $600,000, and undivided prof- 
its of $94,265.03. With resources that reach nearly $6,000,000, this bank off"ers absolute security to 
its depositors. 

In the last few years the number of depositors of this bank has grown to over ten thousand, 
which explains the continuous growth of the bank in influence and financial importance. 






''% 






^dOCAPiroic, , 




-=. M?- 





T. H. DAVIS, 
Vice President. 



L. J. SCHNEIDER. 
Cashier. 



OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS 



OFFICERS 



G. W. LITTLEFIELD, 

President. 

H. A. WROE, 

Vice-President. 

R. C. ROBERDEAU, 

Vice-President. 



T. H. DAVIS, 

Vice-President. 

L. J. SCHNEIDER, 

Cashier. 

H. PFAEFFLIN, 

Ass'T Cashier. 



G. W. LITTLEFIELD. 
H. A. WROE. 
T. J. BUTLER. 
T. H. DAVIS. 



CARL T. WIDEN, Ass'T Cashier. 
DIRECTORS 



W. P. ALLEN. 
R. H. BAKER. 
EDGAR SMITH. 



R. C. ROBERDEAU. 
ERNEST NALLE. 
J. B. ROBERTSON. 
OTTO STOLLEY. 



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THE BANK FAMILY 




Geo. W. Littlefield 
H. A. Wroe 

R. C. ROBERDEAU 

T. H. Davis 
L. J. Schneider 
H. Pfaefflin 
Carl T. Widen 



E. P. Cravens 
J. M. Slaughter 
T. H. Bowman 
Grover Pickrell 
Ed Hutchings 
Harry Bock 
A. S. Johnson, Jr. 



Willard R. Jones 
MoNTFORE Elliott 
Jno. B. Hudson 
Alfred Ellison 
Ruth Krueger 
Virginia Johnson 
Rose Goldstein 



Jas. S. Rogan 
A. D. Boone 



D. H. Hart. Jr. 
Lewy Dunn 



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